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A little over a year ago, I wrote about a town menaced by a statue. For years, the small village of Celoron, New York—Lucille Ball’s lesser-known hometown, overshadowed by her birthplace of Jamestown—has been terrorized by a commemorative statue that has been dubbed “Scary Lucy.” The statue was erected in Celoron’s Lucille Ball Memorial Park, a donation from “artist” (using the term loosely) Dave Poulin. But there was a problem with the statue:
No one here much likes the statue, and one look tells you why. It looks more like an extra from “The Walking Dead” than arguably the most famous comic actress of all time. Many village residents, including the mayor, the village trustees and even Jetta and Mark Wilson, the couple who engaged Jamestown-based artist Dave Poulin to create it and donated it to Celoron more than five years ago, will tell you they don’t care for it.
Despite the fact that the statue bears almost no resemblance to its subject – despite the fact that its deranged grimace and jagged teeth inspire more dread than reverence – tour buses still stop at the park. People still pose for pictures with their arm around Lucy. And Celoron residents are still proud of their village’s role in the life of the First Lady of Comedy, even if some of them privately wish that the statue commemorating her would be struck by lightning.
But it continued to stand in the park, scaring away birds and children. Imagine coming upon this monstrosity at night:
Scary Lucy wants you to take your Vitameatavegamin Open up! Here comes the choo-choo!As Donald Trump might tweet: Sad!
But there is a happy ending to this story. Scary Lucy, like Saddam before her, has been toppled. Her reign of terror is over, and today a new, let’s just say more accurate statue is being unveiled in Lucille Ball Memorial Park. August 6 is particularly special because Lucille Ball would have turned 105 today.
The new statue is going up partly thanks to the Internet and the outrage it is so adept at generating. The viral Scary Lucy story prompted Celoron Mayor Scott Schrecengost to launch a committee to find a new sculptor. Although Poulin apologized in the wake of the viral story and offered to replace the statue, that honor went to sculptor Carolyn Palmer, after winning a national competition to replace Scary Lucy. From NPR:
Palmer started her new creation nine months ago, a period during which she watched and re-watched episodes of I Love Lucy, the groundbreaking sitcom that made Ball a TV star in the 1950s.
Palmer says that research was key to capturing not just Ball's movements, but also a sense of the era.
"I not only wanted to portray the playful, animated and spontaneous Lucy, but also the glamorous icon," said Palmer. "I just hope that all the Lucy fans are pleased and that Lucille Ball herself would have enjoyed this image of her."
Palmer's other works include well-known faces and personalities such as Pope Francis, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Orville and Wilbur Wright, and Thomas Jefferson.
And it’s a beauty:
For comparison:
I expressed skepticism at the end of that diary a year ago about whether the Scary Lucy statue would be replaced any time soon. So I’m very pleased to see it happen relatively quickly. And I’m sure the citizens of Celoron are especially happy to have a statue much more befitting the village’s most celebrated resident.
Top Comments (August 6, 2016):From NWTerriD:
In bubbanomics’ most recent masterpiece about Donald Trump's success in uniting left and right, 2kate2 offered an insightful explanation of why this Presidential campaign is going so well for the Dems.
From BeninSC:
I nominate this fine comment from first-time commenter, LCJinRosylinPA, as being from a Judge of Elections who routinely fights attempts at voter intimidation, intentional or inadvertent. Important work!
From your diarist, Chrislove:
There were some good comments in Dartagnan’s superb diary Three Words That I Wish I’d Never Hear Democrats Say Again. First, this comment by Marisela points something out about the term “white trash” that people don’t often think of. Also, this is an excellent comment by Meteor Blades about why we should not write off entire groups of people as unredeemable.
Top Mojo (August 5, 2016):Top Mojo is courtesy of mik! Click here for more on how Top Mojo works.
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